[pct-l] Bear Cannister, (and Ursack?)

[reynolds@iLAN.com (Reynolds, WT)]

One of the two incidents that led to the requirement of bear canisters in
Kings Canyon were a case of someone sleeping with his food. It happened at
Center basin. Last year an incident happened at 1000 Island Lake. Finally, I
posted a LA Times artical where a person was bit by a bear trying to get
food.

Bear incidents are down because of canisters [and other methods]. When
canisters are required bears go elsewhere. My posting of agressive bears was
based on the LA Times Artical, the Inyo and SEKI Rangers and a couple of
trips this year where I talked to people.

Humans are the dominant species ONLY because they are tool users. Use tools
agains a bear you win. Use your strength, you lose!

-----Original Message-----
From: The Dude [mailto:dude@coruscant.net]
Sent: Friday, August 17, 2001 12:43 AM
To: pct-l@mailman.backcountry.net
Subject: RE: RE: [pct-l] Bear Cannister, (and Ursack?)


This is way too long and really absurd, but I wrote it, so I might as well
send it.  If you hate the bear topic by now, you'd better delete this now.
Otherwise, read on...

>Sleeping with your food seems VERY dangerous in the Sierra these >days....

Before passing judgement on sleeping with your food, I'd like to know some
stats:

1.  How many people have lost their food to a bear while sleeping with it?
I have never heard of one.  Although I did hear a story (from a ranger)
about an idiot who left food in his tent while day hiking, then came back to
find a bear munching on his grub and was injured while foolishly attempting
to take the food back from the bear! Rule: Once the bear has your food, its
HIS food.

2.  How many people have been attacked by a bear trying to get food that
they were sleeping with?  Again, I have never heard of one.  I am not saying
that it doesn't happen, but I have not heard of a case.

3.  If people have been attacked, how many many people have been injured (or
killed) by bears due to sleeping with their food?

I have never heard of anyone being seriously injured by a bear in Yosemite.
Here is the only article of a bear attack in Yosemite that I could find
which did result in a minor injury:
http://www.igorilla.com/gorilla/animal/bear_attack_in_yosemite.html

I should also point out that I found many stories of people killing bears.
Many of them foolsih and irresponsible acts.

Its actually very very rare for black bears to attack people, and even more
rare for them to seriously injure or kill people.  No one has been killed in
an attack by a California black bear:
http://www.urbanlegends.com/animals/bear_attacks.html  
It so rare that there has only been one killing ever in the entire
southeastern U.S. (I realize that this is not the PCT area, but it
illustrates the behavior of bears):
http://www.igorilla.com/gorilla/animal/2000/woman_killed_by_bear_in_tennesse
e2.html


>The
>combination of more bear canisters and a poor berry crop has yeilded >some
>very agressive bears. 

Actually, the facts show that the trend is that bears are becoming LESS
AGGRESSIVE:

1.  Bear Incidents were down 70% in 1999 over 1998:
http://www.nps.gov/yose/news_99/bear0914.htm

2.  Bear Incidents were down 40% in 2000 over 1999:
http://www.nps.gov/yose/news_00/bear0822.htm

3.  Bear incidents are down over 50% thus far in 2001 over 2000:
http://www.nps.gov/yose/bearf.htm

Are you implying that bear cannisters actually encourage bears to become
more aggressive?  That doesnt seem to support your case for their use.

I found no articles indicating that berry yeilds in recent times are less
than historical levels.  However, I didn't find any that indicated there
were great yeilds either.


If you think like a bear, sleeping with your food makes sense:

1.  Bears know that if they don't eat, they will die.  The lack of grocery
stores in the back country and the bears relativley low income makes them
treat food as a very valuable and indespensible necessity.  They will defend
their food with their life because with out food, they will die.

2.  The bear thinks that you (and all animals) will protect your food with
the same vigor that he will.

3.  If a bear encounters you sleeping with your food and he knows (based on
his experience) that there are others nearby who leave their food out in the
open, he will go bother them, rather than fight you for your food.

Back in 1998, the worst bear year on record in Yosemite, I was not using
stealth and camped near Cathedral Lakes along with about 5 other random
groups of campers.  My hiking partner and I were sleeping with our food.  I
woke up in the middle of the night and saw a bear outside in the full moon
looking in the mesh door of our tent.  I stared him down until he went away.
He finally did go away, and never came back.  However, he bothered everyone
else in the area all night and I got no sleep due to the whistles and
pot-banging that I heard throughout the night. 

On a similar note, why do people scramble and fumble to find pots to bang
when yelling works better anyway because it make you appear more aggressive?
IMHO, this is a big part of the problem: People have become so far removed
from our natural state that they have become so dainty and unfamiliar with
nature that most of us now view other animals as dangerous and ferocious,
when the exact opposite behavior (extreme aggression) has put us in the
position of dominant species.  The truth is that primitive people armed with
little more than sticks and stones have successfully and frequently hunted
whales, elephants, buffalo, alligators, lions, panthers, gorrillas, and
BEARS.  

Perhaps we have forgotten what the back-country is all about.  If you want
to eliminate your risk of a potentially dangerous animal encouter, then stay
home.  Personally, I don't want a sterile wilderness experience that has the
same chance of encountering a wild animal as sitting in my office on the
18th floor of downtown Houston.

I go to the back country to become one with nature, and if I get killed by a
bear while sleeping with my food, then I say that is better than being hit
by a bus on my way to work or getting killed by a mugger for a few bucks in
my wallet.  I'll tell you one thing: if a bear really wants my food, he will
probably win (and if he wants to kill me, he easily could), BUT the bear had
better pack a lunch because the fight will be an all-day affair.  And I'll
tell you another thing: if more people had that attitude instead of acting
like wimps and wondering what to do when they see a bear, then fewer people
would lose their food and there would be fewer bear encounters because the
bears would still be afraid of us.

sorry, for the rant. :-)

peace,
dude

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